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He'd come back to... that. Roch was still feeling like his world had been pulled out from under him. He had it memorized, the letter. It was burned into his mind like a bad song, one he'd even absently put music to--then slammed his head into the wall to try and wipe it out. He didn't want to compose a song of his dumped letter. That was the utmost point of pathetic-ness. Yeah, he was pathetic, he thought. Their relationship had always been a series of ups and downs--and gones. There'd been a lot of "gone." in his one real relationship. Actually, there was a lot of "gone" in ALL of his relationships. Family, friends, love.

The punk boil strolled along, absently carrying the basket that his little sister had shoved at him. He would have tossed it--or left it, but even heartbroken he wasn't the type to toss away food. Especially food that Terra had cooked. She was worried about him, he knew, but she hadn't said anything, just dragged him into her room long enough to shove enough food to feed a party into a basket and hand it to him. He had no idea why. But it had made him feel a little bit loved. He was severely lacking in that at the moment.

He paused as something caught his eye. Usually he wouldn't even look twice--but he recognized that minipet, he thought. There, dozing in the sun, was his little Aria. He hesitated, then a tiny smile crept across his face as he headed over to her, crouching down beside her.

"Arrrriaaa," he said softly, reaching out and running a gentle finger behind her ear. "Aria, screech, wake up?"

He grinned widely, forgetting for a moment that he was depressed--it was Aria! Before she could make a noise he scooped her up under her front legs. "Jackdamn, you've grown up! I bet Xiu's mighty proud of how pretty you've gotten," he said, bringing her to his chest to carry her.

"Hey, screech, if you're just loungin' around for the day, why don't you do it with me, huh?" he asked. "Don't worry, I'll bring you back before you're missed," he promised, starting off. "I already promised not t'steal you from your owner," he added as he started across campus. "Plus, I need some company right now... y'can do that, right?" he asked.

His tone seemed extremely vulnerable when he asked that.

"Thanks, screech," he said, cuddling her to his chest as he headed for the front gate. There he slipped her to one arm and pulled his bike out from behind some dead bushes, gently placing her on the front part of the seat before he mounted behind her.

Then he put his extra helmet on her. "Uh... sortta big, I know," he admitted. "But it's either this or stickin' you in the saddlebag." Then he slipped the basket of food into one of the saddlebags and started up the bike, taking off with her sitting practically on his lap. He seemed to know where he wanted to go.

Had he known, Roch would have never dragged her anywhere--to be honest, had he known he probably would have avoided her entirely. He knew how pathetic he was at the moment. But he didn't know--which was why he pulled to a stop in front of the aquarium a bit past the town.

For a moment he stared up at it, then he reached down and took the helmet off of "Aria" and hung it on the handlebar before taking off his own and hanging it as well. "Aria... y'know... I need someone t'go with me for this, but I ain't got anyone I would ask, cuz this is downright pathetic," he said quietly. "I gotta get some closure. An' since I can't go under the sea--well, this is a cheap substitute, y'know?"

He kicked the stand down and dismounted, offering to pick her up. "Will y'come on one last date with me?" he asked her.

He scooped her up in a hug and headed for the big building, walking inside and heading for the front desk to buy their tickets. He paid for two people, even if it seemed silly to pay for a minipet, then headed through the big doors that led to the aquarium.

The glow of the tanks seemed to surround them, and he moved to the nearest glass wall, watching the waterbased minipets swimming. "It's like her bedroom," he said, a little smile on his lips that fell quickly enough. He reached up with his free hand, touching the glass.

"She left me," he said quietly. "Now she's in a place like this, huh?"

"Hey, how good's your balance, screech? Can y'ride on my shoulders?" he asked her. "It's fine if y'don't wanna," he added. "I'm fine like this." He was just trying to focus on the present instead of the past--

Until a comet colored minipet floated past them. Then he winced slightly before letting out a slow breath. "Wanna go t'the next one?" he asked her, looking to the next aquarium. He was paranoid that the damn minipet was staring at him accusingly or something-__-

Once she was situated he moved on to the next exhibit, watching the new types of minipets swim past for a moment before speaking again. "Y'know..." he said quietly, "I thought we'd finally worked it out. I mean... the whole jackin' relationship was full of her gettin' kidnapped or turned into Insanity, or me gettin' turned into insanity, or goin' off on some trip or another--we broke up, we made up, we got torn apart again... almost seems like her walkin' out on me t'go home was a... minor key ending on a major key song," he decided. "It shouldn't be done, but..."

Well, he couldn't quite shrug when it might upset her balance, so he just glanced at her. "Seems t'be the story of my life, really. The endings are always wrong. First my ma, then that stupid crush on your owner, Taryn... my uncle... s**t, I still haven't told Terra about Dallas," he muttered, distracted. "That'll probably end bad too."

"Yeah, I think I'm good now," he said. "At least she's somewhere pretty. And whether she comes back or not, well, I'm still a single guy. So let's go on a good date, whaddaya say, Screech? Y'ever have food from Los Muertos?" he asked her. "I know a nice lil hill where we can have a picnic!"

He was heading for the exit now, tired of being reminded of all the time he'd spent in Amphi's room. It was time to say goodbye to that, he figured as he reached the exit. He looked up at the sign for a moment, then back at the aquariums. "G'bye," he told it.

They stepped into the outside light and he let out a long sigh of relief. "I think I feel better," he said with a hint of surprise. "You're a good friend t'have, Aria."